Professor Greenberg to speak at security conference

Added on the 19th February 2014

In a session about PMSCs (Private Military and Security Contractors), Professor Greenberg will use his expertise to speak about the psychological health of security professionals.

There have only been a modest number of studies into this topic. A study by the RAND Corporation, published in December 2013, showed that rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in private security contractors are substantially higher than rates found in still serving UK military personnel.

Professor Greenberg said: “The psychological health of this occupational group is very important given that they perform an important role in highly challenging conditions.

“The study by RAND is the largest to date to examine the physical and mental health status and health care among PMSCs. It showed that PTSD rates are more than double for PMSCs compared to UK military personnel. The study also showed that PMSCs which worked for organisations that put in place policies to address this issue fared better.

“There are numerous psychological support mechanisms that private security organisations can use to support personnel working in security roles. Such measures include the use of evidence based psychological health support including the use of peer support programmes such as Trauma Risk Management (TRiM).”

The East-West Defence & Security Conference takes place in Sofia between 19 and 21 February 2014. For more details please click here.